MARQUETTE, Mich. - Coming off of its best weekend of the season that saw a 79-52 win over Grand Valley State and a 86-57 triumph of Davenport, the Northern Michigan men's basketball team aims to remain hot in the middle of winter as they travel to the Lower Peninsula to take on the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals and the Wayne State Warriors. 

The Wildcats (14-6, 8-4) currently hold 4th place in the GLIAC standings, with Lake Superior State (10-2), Michigan Tech (10-2) and Ferris State (9-3) all within reach ahead of them. 

This weekend will be Northern's final regular season trip below the Mighty Mac, as they'll first stop in Saginaw Valley to take on the Cardinals (9-11, 5-7) on Thursday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. NMU will then head to the Motor City to play the Wayne State Warriors (10-10, 6-6) on Saturday, February 8 at 3 p.m.

Both games can be watched on the FloSports app, or Casey Ford will have you covered on the airwaves of 100.3 The Point. 


Follow The Action
Follow @NMU_MensBBALL and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the race. 

Thursday, February 6 - vs. Saginaw Valley State at 7:30 p.m.
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Saturday, February 8 - vs. Wayne State at 3 p.m.
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Hear from Matt Majkrzak
"The challenge is going to be to not overreact to either results from earlier this season. The key for us is to take away the first five minutes of the game both nights and not let them see a bunch of threes go in…I hope we can have some success guarding both of these teams."



About the 'Cats
After two tough losses against two top-15 teams in the country the week prior, Northern is now coming off of its best weekend of the season,easily handling Grand Valley State 79-52 and Davenport 86-57. 

NMU's win over Davenport marked the 100th at NMU for Majkrzak. In his 6th season, his record is 100-62.

Defense continues to be the mode of operation for Northern through 20 games. While its offense holds 8th out of 11 teams in the conference at 73.4 points per game, the scoring defense ranks 2nd, allowing only 66.8, good for 34th nationally. NMU is also allowing a league-low 31.6 opponent rebounds per game and holds a +4.7 margin on the glass. The 'Cats sit 4th across the conference with 6.9 steals per game while holding the 2nd best turnover margin at 1.7.

Dylan Kuehl is 10th in the conference averaging 15.4 points per game. The two-time GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week has scored in double figures in 19 of 20 games while shooting at least 50% in 12 of those. In conference games only, he is also 10th at 16.1 points per game, 4th in field goal percentage shooting 49.0% from the floor, and 6th in rebounding at 6.6 per game.

Kuehl surpassed the 1,000 career-points plateau earlier this season, becoming the 35th player in program history to join the exclusive 1K club, and the first since Max Bjorklund (2/17/22). Kuehl was selected to the All-GLIAC Preseason First Team after being named to the All-GLIAC First Team and All-Defensive Team in each of his first two seasons.

Julien Smith is second on the team averaging 11.8 points per game. Smith scored in double figures in each of the first five games, but then only reached that mark in three of the next nine before returning to early season form as of late, scoring 10+ in four of the past five, including a 20-point outing against Davenport. He has been NMU's go-to player in the clutch. With less than four minutes to go in a 10-point game or closer, he is 8-10 (80.0%) from the field. The majority of that work has come from beyond the arc, shooting 6-8 with a game-winning buzzer beater over Illinois-Springfield. 

Sam Privet (10.2) is third on the team in scoring and has found double figures nine times this season. A new insert into the starting lineup this past weekend, Jackson Dudek shined by averaging 14.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 13-15 (86.7%). In four career games when Dudek has played at least 25 minutes, he is averaging 12.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 68.8%. Gerald Gittens Jr. (8.7) and Cal Klesmit (6.9) each present a scoring threat, as they each have multiple games with at least three triples. 


A Look at Saginaw Valley State
The Cardinals are 9-11 overall and 5-7 in conference play, but have won three straight that included a thrilling 103-100 OT win over Purdue Northwest last Saturday. SVSU is 6-3 on their home court.

Saginaw spends a lot of time behind the three-point line, averaging 26.9 attempts per game, good for 31st nationally. Seven players average at least 1.9 three-point attempts per game. The backcourt duo of Toodles Seal (15.5 points per game) and Freddie McIntosh (15.3) average 25.5 FG attempts per game, accounting for 41.4% of the team's shots. 

The Cardinals average 75.5 points per game while allowing 74.5. The team shoots 45.2% from the floor and 33.0% from three.

The series is even 41-41 all-time dating back to the first meeting in 1975. NMU has won the last seven, including a 75-62 victory last month in Marquette. 


A Look at Wayne State
The Warriors are .500, both at 10-10 overall and 6-6 within the conference. They are coming off of a 80-63 defeat to Parkside on Saturday. At home, WSU holds an impressive 7-3 record. 

Wayne State averages 73.9 points per game while giving up 71.3. WSU shoots 45.1% from the floor overall and 34.1% from three. 

The Warriors have perhaps the best three-headed attack in the GLIAC, as Rob Lee Jr. (15.2), Tamario Adley (14.9) and Carmelo Harris (13.7) are the only trio to be averaging those numbers. Lee Jr. has 11 games below that average, but can erupt as seen in his career-high 40-point game against NMU earlier this season. 

Like the all-time series with Saginaw Valley, NMU and Wayne State are even at 42-42. After a six-game winning streak for Northern, WSU has won the last two including a 82-67 win in Marquette in which they shot 64.3% (9-14) from three in the first half. 

 
Superior Dome Showdown vs. Michigan State
On October 13, the Wildcats played its most notable preseason exhibition in program history when they hosted DI blueblood Michigan State in front of 11,500 fans in the Superior Dome Showdown, the largest indoor event in the history of the Upper Peninsula. In a weekend that was much more than the game on the court that included the retirement of NMU alum Tom Izzo's #10 jersey and icons Bill Raftery and Lisa Byington announcing the game, the Wildcats put up a valiant effort and fell 70-53 to the Spartans. Jackson Dudek led the way with 14 points.